Tuesday, April 30, 2013

My thoughts on Body Image issue

Check out this post in the new blogwww.nutrizonia.com

I always
thought that the ideal body image is a tall thin woman with sleek hair! Why do
I think that? Maybe it is because I do not have any of these traits. Do we all
want what we do not have? What we cannot have? Is this the ugly truth? What is
the ideal body image? Why do we need a body image?

I
was inspired to write about body image, since the moment I read an article Gorgeous little girl
by Kate Fridkison her blog. She writes about body image, beauty,
and self-esteem.

I
was procrastinating writing this piece because body image is a critical issue
in American culture. What should I write? Will I add value to the discussion?
Should I write my opinion or the professional one? I do not want to bore you,
with the statics and facts about body image. We all know it is a serious issue.
I was reading about solutions and suggestions for changing the way yousee
yourself. There are tons of advices in personal blogs, mental health experts’
opinions and, dietitian’s advice. Nevertheless, the problem is growing.

Honestly,
I never had issues with my body image when I was a kid, I never saw my mom
gazing at the mirror, complaining about her body. She had a lot of
responsibilities, six kids, home chores, and teaching. She did not have time to
worry about her looks. We never discussed this in my home. My mom was not
worried about my looks but about my education, grades, confidence, and good
manners.

I
always thought I was beautiful enough, never worried about my body image and
body shape. I 'm not the goddess of beauty. I 'm not beautiful by many standards
of beauty. When I got married, I gained weight and started to look at the
mirror repetitively. I wanted to be the prettiest girl my husband would ever
see. I started to hate my body and lose confidence in myself. I tried to lose
weight in a healthy way; I did, but it took me over a year. I was not interested
in fashion, makeup, or anything that could make me beautiful, until my late
twenties when I became pregnant. I was intimidated. I was worrying about what
my body would look like? How big my belly will be? Will I look older than my
real age if I gain a lot of weight? Will I look like a boring mother who
forgets that she is a woman in the first place?

During
my pregnancy, being a nutritionist helped me a lot to gain the expected weight,
and to lose it after delivery. In contrary to my thoughts, gaining weight in
pregnancy for the sake of my baby, made me glow. Seeing my growing belly every
morning, and counting the remaining days made me really happy about how my body
looks. Now after four months of delivery, I lost the excess weight and this
helped me a lot for accepting my body.

Do
I feel good about my body? Not every day, I 'm human. I can go out with a bare
face, even when my face looks pale. I 'm not a manikin, I am alive, I can
breathe, I can talk, I can smile, and I can hear birds singing at the sunrise.
Why do I need more than that? Why do I need an approval permit from society,
affirming that I 'm beautiful? I believe that everyone has a distinctive
personality and a special charm, and it does not have to be in their body or
their faces.

As nutritionist, what I can do to participate
in solving this problem? Will giving people more diets, more nutrition advice work?
Are not we sick from all the rules? What I can say is the ideal body weight
does not mean one should be skinny; there is a range for body weight related to
the height. We do not have the same body types and, that is what makes some people
look thinner or heavier. We should respect our body types. It gives us the
uniqueness, or we all would look like replicas! Some women are curvy; others
have an apple shape, or a pear shape. Even if, you follows a healthy plan diet
carefully and, works out most of the weekdays, youmay not attain the thin skinny body you are dying for it. I 'm
not telling you that to frustrate you,but to be realistic and so you will not anticipate
something that may not happen.

What
I’m trying to say here that the culture we live in has a strong influence on
the way we see ourselves in the mirror. We may struggle changing the culture
that judges us by our looks, but we should work tirelessly together to change
the way we see ourselves and others.